Group to protest traveling circus in Bluffton

Cole Bros. shows scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday at Buckwalter Place

When a traveling circus arrives in Bluffton this week, not everyone will be there to take in its performances.

Shanti Bringas, a Bluffton resident and animal-rights supporter, is organizing a protest of the Cole Bros. Circus, which will set up Wednesday and Thursday at Buckwalter Place.

The 130-year-old circus, which will hold two shows each day at 4 and 7:30 p.m. across from Station 300, has come under fire in recent years from various animal-rights groups who accuse it of mistreating its exotic animals — a charge it denies.

Bringas helped plan a similar protest last year when the circus was scheduled to stop in Bluffton, but that demonstration was scrapped when rain canceled the shows.

Bringas has created a Facebook event page inviting people to join the protest outside the circus tent and said she hopes others will help raise awareness of what she believes is direct animal abuse.

“There are just so many things these people are doing to the animals that aren’t natural,” Bringas said. “Those of us participating in this are opposed to animal abuse in general. I think Bluffton is a pretty educated community, and I don’t think this circus is something we should be allowing in our town or accepting as normal.”

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is one of several organizations that have spoken out against Cole Bros. and other circuses that use animals, and the United States Department of Agriculture has slapped sanctions on the circus before.

In July 2011, the USDA cited Cole Bros. for violations of the Animal Welfare Act that included failure to provide proper veterinary care and nutrition for its elephants. Those charges were settled after the circus paid a $15,000 fine in October 2012.

Also in 2011, the circus and its president and CEO, John Pugh, pleaded guilty in federal court to violating the Endangered Species Act for selling two endangered Asian elephants without obtaining the proper documentation. The circus was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay more than $150,000 in fines.

Calls to Cole Bros. vice president Renee Storey seeking comment on those instances and other allegations of mistreatment of animals were not returned last week.

Circus officials have said the shows play a vital role in animal conservation by helping raise awareness of endangered species, such as the elephants and tigers they feature.

Bringas rejects that notion.

“They don’t raise any kind of awareness or education,” Bringas said. “They teach children that it’s acceptable to mistreat animals for amusement. In nature, elephants walk 25 miles a day, but those in circuses like this are only walking 3 miles a year. And these animals are traveling in cages 48 weeks out of the year. It’s completely unnatural.”

While Bringas said she is not affiliated with PETA, she joins the organization in supporting human-only circuses.

“There are other fun forms of entertainment with human performers that parents can take their children to,” Bringas said. “Cirque du Soleil was a big hit with people in Savannah recently, and there are other shows like it that don’t include mistreating animals.

“Kids love animals and go into these circuses thinking ‘this is cool,’ but if you show people videos of trainers kicking and prodding the animals, they change their mind.”

Bringas, who participated in protests against the Ringling Bros. Circus in Savannah earlier this year, said she expects a peaceful demonstration this week.

“We’re not there to be obnoxious; we’re coming from a good place and just trying to spread awareness,” she said. “If we can get one person to realize what’s being done to these animals, that’s great.”

IF YOU GO

What: Cole Bros. Circus

When: Wednesday and Thursday; two shows each day at 4 and 7:30 p.m.

Where: Buckwalter Place, across from Station 300.

Cost: General admission is $16 for children (ages 2-12), $21 for adults; reserved seating is $20 for children, $25 for adults; VIP seats are $23 for children, $28 for adults

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